Favorite Teams

Driver Josh Sutton owned the winner's circle on Monday night at Northfield Park with seven victories on the 14-race program. That included the night's featured $9,500 Open Pace with Mybrothergeorge ($7), who posted a three-quarter-length win in 1:53.1. Western Churchill was second and Nathans Feelsgood finished third.
(JJ Zamaiko)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Northfield Park is sending out its most ambitious
program of the season on Friday featuring the $110,000 Courageous Lady Pace for
thee-year-old fillies, and horsemen will celebrate the good racing and an
announcement of a 15 percent purse increase this week.

It is the third purse increase since the Northfield Park Hard Rock
Rocksino opened in December. The purses will be spread across conditioned and
claiming races, as well as an immediate boost in the weekly open races. Those
purses will jump to $12,000.

Friday's Hard Rockin' Series has $15,000 and $20,000 purses for the
championships of the six late-closing series for $4,000 and $8,000 claiming
horses. A couple of rich $8,000 and $11,000 opens for fillies and mares will
also boost the night's purses, which are a combined $256,200 for the
14-race program. The first race post time has been pushed back a half hour on
Friday to 6:30 p.m.

"We are executing a specific game plan over the next 18 months to insure
we make the most of the opportunity the State of Ohio has afforded us," said
General Manager Brent Reitz. "It is gratifying to see the positive changes
taking place in Ohio, especially (at Northfield Park), where we continue to
offer year-round racing four or five nights a week."

Northfield Park's 214 nights of live racing are by far the most offered
by any of Ohio's seven harness and thoroughbred racetracks.

Bubbler, with Ryan Stahl in the sulky, has been assigned the outside No.
7 post in the $11,000 Open Handicap for fillies and mares as Cams Van Go and
Power Everywhere bid for repeat wins.

The $15,000 championships for the $4,000 claiming horses are The Juke
Box Hero Series for trotters, The Icon Series for pacers and The Diva Series
for filly and mare pacers. The $8,000 claimers will chase $20,000 jackpots in
The Prima Donna Series for filly and mare pacers, The Hall of Fame Series for
trotters; and The Legend Series for pacers.

Friday festivities: Ronnie Wrenn Jr. will join the trotters and pacers
in Friday night's spotlight, with the track giving away posters of Wrenn, North America's
winningest driver in 2013. Wrenn is trackside for an autograph session.

The Lady Luck Dining Room is finally opening for the season. There is a
mystery tote ticket giveaway and fans can play Harness Racing Bingo to win
$1,500 in prizes.

Sutton is sizzling: Although he hasn't been around for long, Kentucky
horseman Josh Sutton, 31, is pretty satisfied with harness racing in Ohio. It
seems his driving success has gone to his head, and with good reason. Sutton
has been on a tear in recent weeks and Monday he was red hot, winning seven races
on the 14-race program.

Sutton's wins included a three-quarter-length victory behind
Mybrothergeorge in the $9,5000 Open Handicap Pace. It pushed his 2014 win total
at Northfield to 140 victories, grabbing the local lead over Wrenn (136), Aaron
Merriman (101), Robin Miller (53) and David Lake (50).

Sutton still has a little ways to go to match Merriman's hot streak
while racing at Northfield Park and The Meadows in Washington, Pa. Merriman
leads North America reinsmen with 213 victories, followed by Wrenn (203), who
also races at Buffalo Raceway, and fourth-place Sutton, who has 180 wins at
Northfield and the new Miami Valley Gaming.

Familiar face on the rail: Bob Hickey,
60, the long-time mutual manager at ThistleDown Racino, was enjoying the
sunshine and his 45th opening day at the North Randall track on
Friday afternoon even though he recently retired.

"I started working at ThistleDown in 1969
as a messenger in the mutuel department," said Hickey. "My wife, Pat, didn't
give me much of a fight when I told her I wanted to make it 45 straight
openers. Of course, she's upstairs, playing the slots right now."

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